Business

Business briefs

Mf money

The court-appointed authorities liquidating various parts of MF Global Holdings agreed to settle long-running legal disputes, a three-way truce expected to help customers of the failed brokerage firm get their money back more quickly, WSJ.com reported. US brokerage trustee James Giddens said the move could bring $500 million to $600 million into his coffers to distribute to customers.

Junk yarn

Loans made to the neediest US companies rose to the most in five years, as investor demand for the debt with the highest claims on a borrower’s assets grew amid a struggling global economy and fiscal uncertainty. An 8 percent jump in the sale of junk-rated loans to non-bank lenders exceeds a 3.7 percent increase in bank lending.

Gas heaven

The average price for regular gas fell 11.72 cents in the two weeks ended Dec. 21 to $3.2579 a gallon, the lowest level in a year as refining and retail margins sank, according to Lundberg’s national survey. The average, the lowest since Dec. 16, 2011, is now 70.92 cents below the year-to-date high of $3.9671 on April 6.